A Late-Summer Food Writing Workshop in Sicily
Join us for four sun-drenched days of eating, drinking, touring and writing this September.
Demet Guzey and I are delighted to announce our new writing workshop in Italy, September 19-23, 2025. Demet teaches food writing at the Cordon Bleu in Paris and she is a fluent Italian speaker. She is also our fixer and expert on Italian cuisine.
We’ve done several previous workshops in a countryside villa in Verona, where Demet lives. This time we will travel to Sicily to enjoy the regional foods, wines and sunshine.
The Location
Hotel Gutkowski is our boutique waterfront accommodation. It is listed as the best place to stay in this Forbes article. The hotel is located on the small island of Ortigia, on the Eastern side of Sicily, a one-hour drive south from the city of Catania. Ortigia is considered one of the most beautiful destinations in Italy. It has a town center with historic stone buildings, a picturesque town square with a produce market, and a small pebbled beach.
Here we will be away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Our days will be filled with writing, excursions to restaurants, and meetings with local farmers, winemakers and artisan food producers.
Our Activities
During our four-day food tour and writing retreat, we will explore the abundant produce in Ortigia’s daily market and soak up the sunshine. Here we will get to know what Sicily is known for:
Soft, buttery Castelvetrano olives
Almonds so sweet that when raw they taste like marzipan
Citrus including blood oranges and bergamots; and
Rich, deeply-colored red wines.
Ortigia and neighboring Syracuse are famous for fresh seafood, which we will enjoy at local restaurants. They also attract visitors to their Greek ruins.
A family farm trip features vistas of olive, almond and citrus trees. The young and passionate owners will welcome us with seasonal organic produce and traditional recipes. In their farmhouse kitchen, we will go from farm to table with a cooking class and an al fresco meal, under the green cover of carob trees.
We also visit a family-owned winery to taste their award-winning organic wines. Their red wines are made with local Nero D’avola grapes. They also make a famed floral and fruity Moscato Bianco and a gold-colored sweet Passito wine.
Dinners take place on Ortigia, steps from our hotel. At each meal we will enjoy a choice of local cheeses, salami, pasta and seafood. We can also order Sicilian classics like caponata, arancini, cannoli and more, always paired with Sicilian wines.
Here’s what one participant said about our workshop:
“What a joy it was to be a part of the food-wine-writing-villa extravaganza. I thought the whole workshop was wonderful in all ways–the villa, the people, the instruction, the eating and wine tasting and food preparation. I am thankful that I had this unique experience, that my husband could join in, and I’m excited to see what writing/art projects evolve from all I learned and experienced.” – Lynn Archer, blogger, California
Our Writing Workshop
During your time in Sicily, you will be immersed in Italian culture, be part of a supportive group of peers, and you will have the space to focus on your writing.
This is a workshop for all writers, whether you are published or have never written much at all but want to do so. In a nurturing and inspiring environment, our classes and workshops are designed to ignite your passion for the stories you want to tell.
Here’s what we will work on together:
Finding and strengthening your voice
Writing with the senses
Increasing your recipe writing skills
How to pitch and publish your work
What’s involved in publishing a cookbook.
Price and Details
We will meet you in the city of Catania on the morning of September 19, 2025. From there we will start our journey to Ortigia. We will take the group south in a minibus with a private driver. We suggest you arrive in Catania the day before, September 18, 2025, in case there are travel delays, and to get accustomed to the European time zone.
Price: $2990 double occupancy, $3510 single occupancy.
All amounts include a $1000 non-refundable deposit per person.
Partners and friends are welcome. The price for those not joining the writing workshop but attending all other events is $2750.
Secure your spot and pay the non-refundable $1000 deposit. The remaining amount is due July 19, 2025.
Included in the workshop:
Four nights at a boutique hotel in Ortigia, where we plan to be the only guests
Daily writing sessions
Winery tour and tasting at a family winery
Market visit in Ortigia
Cooking class at a family farm
All lunches and three dinners
All transfers with a private minibus.
Not included: Airfare to Italy, travel insurance, and hotel the night before in Catania.
For more about me and Demet, see my bio and Demet’s About page.
Past Writing Workshops in Italy
Here’s a blog post I wrote about our last workshop in Italy. Read more in these blog posts from students:
Lori DeFinis’s essay had these lines that made me laugh: “Dianne was waiting at the door looking exactly how I picture all writers. Small and artsy, wearing overalls and a smirk that makes you feel like the two of you already have an inside joke.”
Mike Vrobel’s piece: Road Trip: Italy Food and Wine Writing Workshop 2018.
For questions and to sign up, email Dianne at dj@diannej.com. You can also leave questions and comments below.
Diane! Just heard about your Sicily workshop from Joy (Cookbook Chronicles). It sounds amazing! I suspect it’s Fabio and Annarella you’re visiting. Please give them a hug for me. (And adopt an olive tree!! They’ll send you oil from the harvest). My favorite little caffè on Ortigia: Caffe Minerva by the Duomo, owned by Tina, a Sicilian woman who grew up in Australia then moved back. It’s a funky place, with lots of Sicilian antiques among the food and drink. Have a fabulous time!!
It sound Amazing ❣️